Beacon Falls fire training school to share $26.2M in state funding

A planned fire training school in Beacon Falls is among five in the state in line to share $26.2 million, under a midterm budget proposed recently by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

The other facilities are Wolcott, Fairfield, Eastern Connecticut and Burrville, which is in Torrington. A new facility is being eyed for Cheshire to replace the one in Wolcott.

The funding for upgrades and new construction would be combined with money from previous years, for a total of $42.5 million, Charles M. Stankye Jr. of Derby said. He is a member of the Education Committee of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association.

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State Rep. Joseph Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, announced the proposal at a Hartford news conference. He was joined by regional fire school directors.

The schools offer programs that firefighters must take for accreditation and follow regulations set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Fire Protection Association, Stankye said.

Firefighters must be knowledgeable in such subjects as safety and protective equipment, the chemistry and behavior of fire and ventilation.

Valley firefighters for 12 years have been training at various firehouses in the region and doing "live burns" in Fairfield, said Stankye. The committee is leading the effort to get the funding, Stankye said.

He is treasurer of the Valley fire training school and is Derby's deputy fire marshal. He is a 56-year member of Paugassett Hook and Ladder Company.

If Malloy's proposal is approved by the General Assembly, Stankye said, the funding depends on state Bond Commission approval.

As to when the school would be built, Stankye said, "We don't know. It depends on if the budget goes through, and the governor releases the bonding money."

Stankye said he feels confident of getting the funds "because the governor sets the Bond Commission agenda, and this latest appropriation is the governor's idea."

Al Hawkins, director of the Eastern Connecticut school in Willimantic, said the funding would be divided based on the recommendations of a survey done by an architecture firm for the General Assembly in 2001.

After the survey was finished, the legislature allocated money to fix up the fire training facilities. Since then, the New Haven school has been rebuilt, and the Hartford County facility is nearly done, Stanyke said.

Wolcott fire school Director Steve Veneziano said recently that the plan calls for two schools to be built each year until completion. The Wolcott center is run by the Waterbury Area Fire Chiefs Association.

Prison land off Jarvis Street in Cheshire is eyed for the new site. It "is still realistically two to three years away from being built," Veneziano said.

Timing depends on how close the facilities are to construction.

The Cheshire center is expected to cost $5 million to $7 million.

A public meeting last month in Cheshire brought opposition from neighbors, who said noise and traffic from the school would reduce their property values.

Veneziano said to address some of the neighbors' concerns, tests will be done to determine the impact of the noise, and several balloons will be sent aloft to determine whether a planned burn building will be a visual eyesore.

Because firefighters need to train on ladders, the building will be 42 feet high, he said.

The Wolcott State Fire School was built 39 years ago. Some of its walls are collapsing, the roof needs repair and the basement fills with water because of drainage problems.

Register reporter Luther Turmelle and The Associated Press contributed to this story. Call Phyllis Swebilius at 203-789-5681. Follow us on Twitter @nhrvalley and @pswebilius.